Birthday Bruises
by thisislegit
Summary: It's Zoro's birthday, and everyone is gathered to celebrate, so why in the hell does his boyfriend keep avoiding him?
1. Chapter 1

Zoro walked into his apartment to be tackled down by both Luffy and Chopper. A chorus of "Surprise!" rang from the rest of the party haunting the apartment. Usopp shooed their friends off, and helped Zoro up from the ground. Looking around, Zoro saw the confetti, and the brightly colored banner that read Happy Birthday.

No sign of the shitty cook.

Before he could ask about his boyfriend, he was pulled into a conversation with Law and Bartolomeo about the updated policies at their workplace. Raises were coming soon, but would it really matter with the slight increase of taxing that will happen a few months later? What did Law mean he was getting a promotion! Who was in charge of this? Zoro had been working much harder than his lazy ass. Oh, yeah, the criminal record. He forgot that they still look at that from time to time.

The food didn't seem to get low, which tipped him off that his boyfriend was working diligently in the kitchen. Whenever he tried to get in there, he would be pulled aside, or dragged into another conversation. While talking to Nami about his debt, he saw a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye. He didn't feel bad about cutting her off to dash into the kitchen.

Why the hell was Sanji avoiding him? He opened his mouth to greet him, but the kitchen was empty except for drinks, snacks, and a few side dishes that didn't seem to disappear. A nicely decorated cake sat on the counter with the right numbered candles sticking out of the top, but there wasn't a curly-browed chef in sight.

Luffy tugged on his arm, half dragging him out of the kitchen and into the living room. Zoro continued conversing with his friends, as he was genuinely happy they all came to celebrate his birthday with him. However, he was only half-listening while he kept his eyes peeled for another flash a blonde. Did he do something wrong again? Even so, why would he choose to avoid him on his own birthday? The cook had more balls than that. If he was pissed enough at Zoro to ruin his birthday than he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of inviting everyone.

"Are you all right, Zoro? You seem distracted." Robin sat beside him on the coach with a wine cooler in her hand.

"I'm fine, mostly. Have you seen Sanji?"

"Several times. He's asked me to help put the food out when it runs low. I think he's done cooking for now though. Haven't you seen him?"

Zoro huffed, and crossed his arms. "No, I haven't. Every time I try to get close to the kitchen someone wants to talk to me about something else."

"Is anyone trying to stop you now?"

"No, but it doesn't matter. I think he went to our roo-…I'm heading to the bathroom." Zoro stood up, but Robin grabbed the hem of his shirt before he could walk away.

"Before you go, I just want to tell you to listen with your ears before your eyes."

Zoro nodded, and waited until she let go before making his way down the hall. It was easy to say he was just going to the bathroom to get his friends to leave him be. He needed to confront his cook.

Slipping into their room, Zoro saw Sanji looking at his phone and touching a bruise on his face.

Wait. A bruise?

"What happened?" Zoro asked.

Sanji jumped and looked at him, then looked away, nearly dropping his phone in the process. It was too late to hide anything, as Zoro had seen the purpled bruises on his face and neck. A bandaid laid over his nose, and his lip was busted.

"Who did this." The nails of his fingers bit into his palm.

"Don't worry about it. I-"

"Don't worry about it? You've been avoiding me for my whole damn birthday, and it's not because you're pissed at me, but this? Why?" Zoro had crossed the room to stand in front of him.

Sanji fiddled with his bandaged hands, and Zoro felt a sharp stab in his stomach. As lightly as he could, he lifted Sanji's hands from his lap. "You've been cooking like this? Sanji, what the fuck."

"We were getting stuff for the party and there was an incident."

"An incident? That's what you're calling it?"

"Luffy and Usopp already took care of them. I didn't want your birthday party to be shitty, so I asked everyone not to say anything. I'm fine. You know I've had worse."

Zoro pulled Sanji up from the bed, and held him close. Pressing his face into his neck, he felt Sanji's arms drape over his shoulders. Sanji smelled like cotton and the custard tarts he'd made last. He always smelled like something sweet.

"I love hanging out with everyone, but my party is still really shitty without you there. I know you don't like troubling people, but don't hide these things from me. That's not how this relationship is gonna work. Don't shoulder everything by yourself."

"Sorry." Sanji pressed his face against Zoro's shoulder.

Zoro placed a kiss against the soft skin of his neck. He kissed him again under his jawline. Pulling back, he reached up to brush Sanji's hair behind his ear. His eyebrows curled in the same direction, and tired eyes stared back at him.

"If you pull this shit again, I'll be more than pissed off."

"I get it, shithead. It won't happen again."

Zoro kissed him. It was soft so as not to irritate his busted lip. He flicked his tongue against the crease of Sanji's lips, asking permission. A soft moan escaped Sanji's lips, as the familiar taste of sake and Zoro grazed his tongue.

Someone knocked on the bedroom door snapping them out of the moment. There were still guests to attend to.

Their lips were a hair's breadth away when Sanji said, "Get your ass back out there, birthday boy."

"You've got five minutes to get ready yourself, shitty cook. I'm not blowing out a single candle if you're not next to me."

"You're embarrassing yourself."

Chopper's voice came from the other side of the door. "Zoro? Are you in there?"

"Yeah, one second."


	2. Chapter 2

Of course Sanji had to run into a few stragglers from Doffy's gang. On a normal occasion he could handle himself, but these guys played dirty. Dirt in his eyes, and brass knuckles were a bad combination. The metallic taste of blood sat heavily on his tongue. Lucky for him, Luffy and Usopp had come back to the car to see where he'd gone.

The damage was bad, and Zoro would be furious when he saw him.

"What do you mean don't tell him?" Luffy was glaring. There was a good amount of adrenaline still running through him.

"It's his birthday. I wouldn't want something small like this to ruin it."

Usopp started, "Sanji, I understand your concern, but this isn't small, and Zoro's your boyfriend-"

"-yeah! It may be his birthday, but you got hurt, and that's just as important for him to know. Give me one good reason not to say anything."

"Because I asked you not to." Sanji wiped the blood from his chin onto the sleeve of his shirt.

Luffy looked like he might protest more, but chose to huff in frustration. Usopp reluctantly agreed, but he kept muttering about what Zoro would say once he saw him. Sanji just had to make sure Zoro didn't see him until after the party was over.

Nami arrived with Vivi, and both of them were appalled by Sanji's appearance. He quickly explained the situation to them, and asked if they would let the rest of the guests in as they arrived so he could get the food started.

"What are you going to tell Zoro?" Vivi asked.

"If possible, I'd prefer him not to know until after the party is over."

"Is that okay?"

Sanji answered that it was perfectly okay. Just because he had a bad start to the day didn't mean Zoro had to endure it too. When all the guests arrived, Sanji made sure to keep himself busy in the kitchen. The loud surprise from the main entrance startled him, but also made him more careful to keep to certain parts of the kitchen.

Every time a flash a green began heading his way, someone would come pull him aside. Sanji felt very grateful for the friends he had. Once his hands started to ache, he decided to call it a night. The coast was clear enough for him to make a swift get away into their bedroom. Just a couple more hours, and this night will be over.

He pulled out his phone to get a look at his face. Chopper fixed him up with the first aid kit in the bathroom after he arrived, but it still wasn't a pretty site. Busted lip, nearly broken nose, bruised cheek, and the imprint of thick fingers laid across his neck.

"What happened?"

Sanji jumped, and felt a cold hand grasp at his heart. Zoro wasn't supposed to see him like this. Not on his birthday.

"Who did this." Zoro asked.

God, he looked pissed. Maybe it would've been better to tell him about the fighter sooner. Then again, the whole thing didn't matter at this point.

"Don't worry about it. I-"

"Don't worry about it? You've been avoiding me for my whole damn birthday, and it's not because you're pissed at me, but this? Why?"

Okay, that wasn't the right way to redirect the conversation. Zoro was in front of him now, and he looked hurt. Wasn't Zoro having fun at his party? Why did it matter what happened. He was fine. He could take care of himself. Sanji felt his hands being lifted. God, his hands. How was he supposed to work like this? His second most precious commodity, ruined in the span of a few minutes. How could he be so careless?

"You've been cooking like this? Sanji, what the fuck."

"We were getting stuff for the party and there was an incident."

"An incident? That's what you're calling it?"

"Luffy and Usopp already took care of them. I didn't want your birthday party to be shitty, so I asked everyone not to say anything. I'm fine. You know I've had worse."

Sanji was pulled up from the bed, and embraced by strong arms. Zoro pressed his face into his neck, and Sanji moved his arms from between their chests to drape them around Zoro's shoulders. Zoro gave off body heat like a furnace, so he felt like he could curl around his warmth.

"I love hanging out with everyone, but my party is still really shitty without you there. I know you don't like troubling people, but don't hide these things from me. That's not how this relationship is gonna work. Don't shoulder everything by yourself."

What a hypocrite. Zoro was always the first person trying to shoulder everyone's problems, but Sanji felt a little drunk by his words. "Sorry."

Zoro moved his hair out of his face, and they were kissing. The warmth started to turn into a fire until someone knocked on the door. Sanji was a little disappointed, but he was already being a bad host by not showing his face much. He couldn't avoid everyone's company forever. "Get your ass back out there, birthday boy."

"You've got five minutes to get ready yourself, shitty cook. I'm not blowing out a single candle if you're not next to me."

"You're embarrassing yourself."

Chopper's voice came from the other side of the door. "Zoro? Are you in there?"

"Yeah, one second."

Sanji gave him another peck on the lips, promising him that he'd be out in a few minutes. He made good on his promise, watching his idiot swordsman eating cake, and opening presents. The cook felt bad that he couldn't give Zoro the specific present he planned for tonight, but in a few more days, he'd definitely be up for it.

"Happy birthday, Zoro," he said pressing a kiss against his pierced ear.


End file.
